45. Whatever happens to every man， this is for the interest of the universal： this might be sufficient. But further thou wilt observe this also as a general truth， if thou dost observe， that whatever is profitable to any man is profitable also to other men. But let the word profitable be taken here in the common sense as said of things of the middle kind [neither good nor bad.
46. As it happens to thee in the amphitheatre and such places， that the continual sight of the same things and the uniformity make the spectacle wearisome， so it is in the whole of life； for all things above， below， are the same and from the same. How long then？
47. Think continually that all kinds of men and of all kinds of pursuits and of all nations are dead， so that thy thoughts come down even to Philistion and Phoebus and Origanion. Now turn thy thoughts to the other kinds [of men]. To that place then we must remove， where there are so many great orators， and so many noble philosophers， Heraclitus， Pythagoras， Socrates； so many heroes of former days， and so many generals after them， and tyrants； besides these， Eudoxus， Hipparchus， Archimedes， and other men of acute natural talents， great minds， lovers of labour， versatile， confident， mockers even of the perishable and ephemeral life of man， as Menippus and such as are like him. As to all these consider that they have long been in the dust. What harm then is this to them； and what to those whose names are altogether unknown？ One thing here is worth a great deal， to pass thy life in truth and justice， with a benevolent disposition even to liars and unjust men.
48. When thou wishest to delight thyself， think of the virtues of those who live with thee； for instance， the activity of one， and the modesty of another， and the liberality of a third， and some other good quality of a fourth. For nothing delights so much as the examples of the virtues， when they are exhibited in the morals of those who live with us and present themselves in abundance， as far as is possible. Wherefore we must keep them before us.
49. Thou art not dissatisfied， I suppose， because thou weighest only so many litre and not three hundred. Be not dissatisfied then that thou must live only so many years and not more； for as thou art satisfied with the amount of substance which has been assigned to thee， so be content with the time.
50. Let us try to persuade them [men]. But act even against their will， when the principles of justice lead that way. If， however， any man using force stands in thy way， betake thyself to contentment and tranquillity， and at the same time employ the hindrance toward the exercise of some other virtue； and remember that thy attempt was with a reservation [conditionally]， that thou didst not desire to do impossibilities. What then didst thou desire？ Some such effort as this. But thou attainest thy object， if the things to which thou wast moved are [not] accomplished.
51. He who loves fame considers another man’s activity to be his own good； and he who loves pleasure， his own sensations； but he who has understanding， considers his own acts to be his own good.
52. It is in our power to have no opinion about a thing， and not to be disturbed in our soul， for things themselves have no natural power to form our judgments.
53. Accustom thyself to attend carefully to what is said by another， and as much as it is possible， be in the speaker’s mind.
54. That which is not good for the swarm， neither is it good for the bee.
55. If sailors abused the helmsman or the sick the doctor， would they listen to anybody else； or how could the helmsman secure the safety of those in the ship or the doctor the health of those whom he attends？
56. How many together with whom I came into the world are already gone out of it.
57. To the jaundiced honey tastes bitter， and to those bitten by mad dogs water causes fear； and to little children the ball is a fine thing. Why then am I angry？ Dost thou think that a false opinion has less power than the bile in the jaundiced or the poison in him who is bitten by a mad dog？
58. No man will hinder thee from living according to the reason of thy own nature： nothing will happen to thee contrary to the reason of the universal nature.
59. What kind of people are those whom men wish to please， and for what objects， and by what kind of acts？ How soon will time cover all things， and how many it has covered already.
